Changing Aging

 Posted by Susan Ferguson, Director of Marketing, Ecumen

The Alzheimer’s Association has created a great new online tool.  Called the Alzheimer’s Association Senior Housing Finder, consumers can search for senior housing communities that specialize in Alzheimers and dementia care.  It is the first such tool available nationwide and features more than 65,000 providers. 

The needs for these services are going to continue to grow as a person develops Alzheimers every 72 seconds.  In fact, getting Alzheimer’s is one of baby boomers biggest concerns according to our Age Wave Study.  It behooves senior housing organizations to complete a profile for this database and make their services known to people who are searching for them.  Thank you to the Alzheimer’s Association for making this resource available.

People often talk about changing one’s brand name as being a scary process.  It shouldn’t be.  It should get the blood pumping and veins jumping - kind of like swimming in Lake Superior. 

You want a name where you’re proud to show your face when you say it.  Obviously the person pictured here isn’t very proud of the place he works for.  Pride is critically important in all professions, but especially in such customer-service intensive ones, such as aging services and senior housing.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune had a nice article yesterday on Luther Park, a senior housing development that we are very excited to be part of in Sandpoint, Idaho.  The first project of its kind in Idaho, it’s a great example of collaboration among Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) partners to help people live for a lifetime in communities that they love.

First Lutheran Church of Sandpoint will be the owner of Luther Park which will be physically connected to First Lutheran Church.  Ecumen will develop and manage it.  The Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA is the primary financing partner, and Thrivent also contributed financing.  Pastor Dave Olson is the visionary behind the project and bringing the various ELCA partners together to make it a reality.

Back in August, we blogged about a Chicago Tribune story on “outsourcing long-term care to India.”  The story was about a son moving his father there for care, because he’d get more personal attention and it was less expensive.  Also, a recent ABC News story looked at people moving from the United States to get long-term care in Mexico.  These folks should have checked out a few rural U.S. communities before heading out of the country.

What is so striking is the sense of community (and family members caring for family members) that you find in many smaller towns’ senior communities. 

Key to successful aging are feeding and growing your social, spiritual, and vocational parts of who you are. 

The other day Linda Hanson of the Duluth News Tribune did a wonderful story of a person who exemplifies this (We’d link to it, but the News Tribune hasn’t put it online.)  The story was about Monsignor Patrick McDowell, who resides at Ecumen’s Lakeshore community in Duluth and is pictured here with Bayshore and Lakeshore chaplain Rev. Alice Olson. 

(For our readers around the country saying to themselves ”I recognize that guy.”  You’re right, Monsignor McDowell was the priest in the movie North Country.)

Hope you had a great Halloween. 

They sure did at The Villages of North Branch, a new Ecumen community. 

Invites from Pam Dolin and Julie Walton brought about 400 area kids trick or treating at The Villages, starting a new Halloween tradition.

“I’m a revolutionary.”  Those are the words Jeff Petty, CEO of Wesley Enhanced Living in Philadelphia opened up Wesley’s Aging Revolution Conference in Philly.  What he meant by a revolutionary is that he’s part of an organization that is “changing aging” and revolutionizing how we serve our customers and prepare for tomorrow.

The thought-provoking event included breakout sessions on e-seniorhood of 2027, discussions of how to better deliver housing and services, a keynote by Senator John Glenn, and a presentation by U.S. Comptroller General David Walker of the need to deliver new solutions on Medicare and Medicaid spending.  Here’s a look at other revolutionaries who spoke.

Congratulations to Ecumen team members at The Pines and The Oaks in Hutchinson.  They were a recipient of an Ecumen Majestic Oak Award for Innovation, which they received for developing a new initative that improves the lives of the people we serve and is adapted at other Ecumen communities.  For more on the Ecumen Innovation Station program, go here.

(Pictured L to R: Peggy Sugheimer, Kathryn Roberts and Joyce Aakre after the planting of the Ecumen Majestic Oak in Hutchinson).

While prevention and fitness are becoming more prevalent in the next generation of seniors, they’re not as prevalent in the Greatest Generation. 

Michael Graves, the renowned designer who has created many cool wares for Target, was in Minneapolis this weekend to receive the National Courage Award from the amazing  Courage Center, which empowers people with disabilities.  

When he received his award, he commented on the people in the audience with wheelchairs and walkers, saying “I love it, welcome to what will soon be the new normal.”  He, of course, is talking about the age wave.  Michael Graves became paralyzed three years ago when he contracted a viral infection.  It changed his life and, undoubtedly, because of that, he’s going to change the lives of many others.

A huge congratulations to Ecumen’s team members, Ecumen has been named for the third straight year as one of Minnesota’s Best Places to Work. 

The award is bestowed by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.  More than 200 companies vied for the “Best Places to Work” designation.  Ecumen was one of Minnesota’s top 10 large companies.  Winners were selected based on anonymous surveys conducted by employees.  The survey sought ratings on several topics:  work environment, embracing innovations/new ideas, people practices, personal growth and development, people in the organization and how things work day-to-day.

The Business Journal highlighted Ecumen’s dual commitment to delivering great customer experiences and innovating.